Musical toy.



E. J. RICH.

MUSICAL TOY. I APPLICATION FILED MAY'16',1907.

" Patented N0v.l22, 1910.

EDWIN 1T. RICH, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIG'NOR OF ONE-HALF TO EDWIN B. MGCALL, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

MUSICAL TOY.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN J. RICH, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical Toys; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to musical toys of the type employing generally one or more vibratory elements actuated to give fort-h musical tones by the passage of cur-.

rents of air generated by the rotation of the device, and it has for its object to provide an article of this nature which will be strong and durable and positive in its action but which can be manufactured at low cost and easily assembled.

My improvements are further directed toward the means for effecting its rapid rotation with the object of facilitating the ease with which the toy may be operated.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features be ing pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of an entire device constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the shell or rotary member. Fig. 3 is a similar view, with one of the shell plates removed. Fig. 4 is a transverse central section on the line 1- 1 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective of the fan blades showing their formation and manner of as semblage. Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the actuating cords illustrating the manner in which they are twisted.

Similar reference numerals in the several figures indicate similar parts.

My improvements relate principally to and are herein shown in connection with such toys of the character before indicated as depend for their operation upon the torwhen pulled intermittently in opposition to each other, twist alternately, first in one di- Specification of'Letters Patent.

Application fi1ed May 16, 1907.

Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

Serial No. 374,042.

rection and then the other, causing the intermediate member, by the inertia of which they are aided, to rotate rapidly therewith generating air currents suiiicient to produce upon the musical devices the desired sounds. Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings A indicates generally the rotary sound producing element, B the cords or flexible operating members secured thereto and G rings attached to the outer ends of the latter through which the operator may pass his fingers in handling the device. It is usually necessary, as a preliminary step, to start the twisting of the cords by hand or by imparting a gyroscopic movement to the member A while supported at C C. To overcome this objection and render the top easily and readily operable, I form the cords B on each side of preferably four separate flexible strands, as shown in Fig. 6. Two of these strands, as indicated by the numerals l and 2, are, previous to their attachment twisted in one direction and the others, 8 and 4, in the opposite direction. When secured at both ends, the strands 1 and 2 will thus have a normal tendency to intertwine themselves about the strands 3 and 4 of the other group and cause a kinking and consequent shortening tension on the whole cord of which they form parts. When the toy is, therefore, picked up and the rings C pulled in opposite directions, the member A. will immediately begin to rotate slowly and soon gather the required energy without further manipulation on the part of the operator.

The member A comprises in the present instance a shell composed of two circular symmetrically formed concave plates 5, one of which is provided with a depression 6 having a series of apertures or perforations 7 therein. The edges of the depression form a seat for a diaphragm 8 provided with openings 9 across which project a plurality of reeds 10 in the well known manner, the said reeds being of the proper proportions and design to produce the tone or tones desired. Within the shell is arranged a series of blades 11 formed in the present instance as shown in Fig. 5 of two angular pieces of sheet material having complementary slots 12 therein by means of which they are readily assembled about a hub member 13 with their ends disposed radially and in ahnement. Extending centrally through the hub member 13 and through apertures 14 in the plates 5 is a core piece 15, the ends of which are'formed into eyes 16 and offer means of attachment for the cords B. These eyes, forming a substantially flat portion on the core, fit snugly in the apertures 14 which are elongated in the form of slots so that the parts are held firmly together and the shell and core are locked against relative movement. The blades, however, are of such a width as to hold the adjacent edges of the plates 5 separated by an opening 17 extending in the present instance peripherally of the shell though the same efiect might be produced by apertures arranged in substantially the same manner.

When the shell is rotated at suliicient speed by means of the cords B as before explained, or otherwise, the air in the several chambers formed by and included between the blades ll is forced outwardly by centrifugal action through the'opening 17. There is, therefore, a constant tendency for an equal volume of airrto be drawn from the exterior through the perforations 7 and openings 9 to take its place. These currents in passing vibrate the reeds 10 and cause a substantially continuous musical tone to be produced.

A toy of this description may be cheaply manufactured, the parts being produced by simple mechanical processes and easily as-' sembled, while the energy stored in the ac,- tuating cords by my improved construction causes the device to instantly respond to the efforts of persons unfamiliar with the principles involved. Any desired number of reeds may be employed or other devices operable through the same agencies may be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a toy, the combination with a rotary element, comprising two opposed shell plates having oppositely arranged elongated apertures or slots therein, of a wire core piece extending axially of the element and having its ends formed into loops or eyes exteriorly thereof for the attachment of actuating devices, said loops being arranged within the slots inthe shell plates.

2. In a musical toy, the combination with a rotary shell comprising oppositely arranged plates having depressions therein, one of said plates being provided with an opening, of diaphragms arranged within the depressions, a tone producing element carried by one of them, a hub member extending between the diaphragms and spacing the plates and diaphragms to form a continuous peripheral opening in the shell, and a core extending through the hub and secured on the outer sides of the plates to retain the parts rigidly together.

3. In a musical toy, the combination with a rotary shell comprising oppositely arranged plates having depressions therein, one of said plates being provided with an opening, of diaphragms arranged within the depressions, a tone producing element carried by one of them, a hub member extending between the diaphragms and spacing the plates and diaphragms to form a continuous peripheral opening in the shell, blades carried by the hub and projecting radially within the shell and a core extending through the hub and secured on the outer sides of the plates to retain the parts rigidly together.

4L. In a musical toy, the combination with the opposed shell plates, of the hub member arranged between them, the blades formed in integral pairs having the complementary slots therein and arranged to surround the hub piece and the securing member extending axially through the hub and plates.

5. In a musical toy, the combination with two concaved shell plates, a plurality of fan blades located between and acting as spacing members for separating said plates to form a continuous peripheral opening between them and a reed plate located between said blades and one of the plates, of a securing member extending axially of the plates and rigidly connecting all the parts in the manner set forth.

EDWIN J. RICH.

Witnesses RUSSELL B. GRIFFITH, WALTER B. PAYNE. 

